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Nexus 5 given the teardown treatment, scores 8 out of 10 in repairability

A rite of passage for any hot new device, iFixit’s teardowns give us insight into the hardware that makes the mobile magic happen: all the nitty-gritty components that we often talk about, but we rarely get to see.

The newest device to visit iFixit’s teardown bench is the Nexus 5, the already popular pure Android smartphone that Google launched last week. So, when it comes to repairability, how good is the new LG-made Nexus?

The device scored a very respectable 8 out of 10; the Nexus 5 is outranked only by two older devices from Motorola, the Droid Bionic and the Atrix 4G.

iFixit found that the Nexus 5 is highly repairable thanks to its modular design, which makes it easy to replace just the faulty components, and repair-friendly assembly methods, including plastic clips, standard Phillips screws, and just a smidge of adhesive. Unfortunately, one of the most sensitive components of the phone is hard and expensive to replace: the display is glued to the cover glass, meaning that you will have to replace the entire assembly in case of accident. We don’t know yet how solid the Nexus 5 is (drop test in the making), but a case is highly advised.

The teardown also gives us a peek at the various components inside the Nexus 5, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, the 8MP OIS camera module, the DRAM modules, and the non-removable 2,300 mAh battery.